The exhaust pipe behind the cat has had a small hole near the flange, for years, that I put paste over, and it has passed inspection like that. I take it to the same shop every year. But I just noticed another hole up there next to the flange, and pasted it over, and it's bright white and pretty noticeable.

It has sealed up the hole, and there is no more noise from it, and no puffs of exhaust.

The original patch has lasted for years, so I expect this one to also.

I'm in Pa. I read the regulations for Pa online and it says something about no external repairs being allowed on the *muffler*, but doesn't say anything about the pipes, except that there should be no leaks.




Thanks

 

The only person who will answer your question is the inspector himself , and honestly a "zipped lip" will be your best approach ! If you point it out to him , oh yea I'll bet he won't want to approve that , and I'd even go as far as to try hiding it by giving it a quick shot of black high temp paint and then driving it around a bit to fade/bake the paint to blend it in a bit .

I'm sure you know the only assured pass is to replace the offending part(s) , but I'm not sympathetic to the fact that if your on a tight budget getting the pass without a couple hundred dollars of exhaust parts will allow that couple hundred to go to more important matters like rent , food , and maybe car insurance , all somewhat more important than a whisper quiet exhaust system with no patches in life's grand scheme of things .

 

Thanks for the tips, OrangeBird.

 

Your welcome , I'm truly glad to help . To be honest , In the past when funds were tight that's exactly what I did , patch it , hide it with high temp paint , and not say a word to the inspector . Passed with flying colors and didn't get caught . Of course nowadays with these cars getting SO rare , the inspector seeing a million Honduhas in between the few and far between third gen , and most of em being "car guys" themselves , I haven't had an inspector "crawl up my car's tailpipe" yet . I just get the "Wow , this thing is in great shape for how old it is !!!" and the inspection sticker gets slapped on the windshield two minutes after I pull it into the inspection bay (In lovely Taxachusetts cars older than OBD2 get a safety check only , no emissions check whatsoever)

 

Which is better, or worse? I'm in TAX YOU TO DEATH CONNECTICUT

 

Update on my inspection: It passed! I now have July, 2019 stickers. I didn't say anything about the exhaust patches, and the inspector didn't say anything either. Now I can relax and enjoy my GTA.